


And Ulrich Makes Three

by AdamantlyAutisticAndAdorable



Series: Poly Ulrich/Aelita/Jeremie [1]
Category: Code Lyoko
Genre: But they love him anyway, Established Jerlita, Multi, Ulrich is so dense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:02:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24167791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdamantlyAutisticAndAdorable/pseuds/AdamantlyAutisticAndAdorable
Summary: Ulrich has lived with two of his best friends since they graduated high school. Is he reading too much into their attentions, or are they trying to tell him something?
Relationships: Aelita Schaeffer/Ulrich Stern, Jeremie Belpois/Aelita Schaeffer, Jeremie Belpois/Ulrich Stern, Ulrich Stern/Aelita Schaeffer/Jeremie Belpois
Series: Poly Ulrich/Aelita/Jeremie [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1744273
Comments: 5
Kudos: 15





	And Ulrich Makes Three

Ulrich knocked weakly on Jeremie and Aelita's bedroom door and barely waited for a response before he let himself in. His roommates were both sitting at the computer, but they turned quickly when he dropped his schoolbag.

He fell onto the couch and Aelita was the first one to sit next to him. He started shaking as she put her arms around him and Jeremie sat on his other side, rubbing his back.

"Are you okay, Ulrich?" Aelita let him rest his head on her shoulder and she laid her head on his. "Did something happen at therapy?"

Ulrich nodded into her shoulder and took a deep, shuddering breath. "We were just… Talking about my dad today."

Jeremie hissed in sympathy and sighed. "Anything you want to talk about?"

"Just… Me coming to realize I could never have satisfied him. Every time I met the goals he set for me, he moved the goalposts so I was still a disappointment in his eyes. Nothing I could have ever done would have been good enough."

"Oh, sweetie, I'm so sorry…" Aelita stroked his hair gently.

"It's okay. Because we also talked about how I still had a father figure that was there for me," Ulrich sniffed. "I had Jim, and how he always looked out for me and drove me to be better."

Jeremie smiled softly and rubbed his back with both hands. "That's good though, right?"

Ulrich sighed as he started to relax. "Yeah, just...a lot. To finally admit our middle school PE teacher was more of a dad to me than my actual dad…"

"To be fair, Jim is a pretty great surrogate dad," Aelita smiled. "You should call him."

"No, I have to study for my finals. They're creeping up and I feel so behind even though I've been doing all the work…" Ulrich closed his eyes, letting the warmth of his two best friends deep into him and loosen the cold knot of worry tight in his chest.

"How about we help you after dinner? I only have a few cases and they can wait until tomorrow." Jeremie patted his back one last time before standing.

"And I could use a break from song writing," Aelita squeezed Ulrich tight before standing as well and helping him to his feet.

"You guys don't have to," Ulrich shook his head.

"We want to," Aelita smiled softly and took his hand. "We hate seeing you stressed like this. And besides, after we study, we can watch a movie. Your pick."

"You guys really want to?" Ulrich squeezed Aelita's hand and looked at them hesitantly. They both just smiled and nodded, and he laughed shakily in relief. "I feel better about this already."

Jeremie smiled and squeezed Ulrich's other hand briefly. "I'll start on dinner, you set up in the dining room."

Ulrich picked up his bag and went to his room. He showered and changed into comfortable clothes, got out the books he needed, and made his way to the dining room. He could see Jeremie was almost done and started setting the table. Aelita helped him, and soon they were all eating, Ulrich listening happily to both of them talk about their days. He could listen to both of them talk for hours without getting bored.

When everything was done, and dishes had been washed and put away, Aelita grabbed his flash cards and started quizzing him. When he'd worked through the stack twice, Jeremie helped with a few word problems. They systematically worked through all his review sheets until Ulrich felt confident with the material.

"I'll make popcorn while you pick out a movie, Ulrich," Aelita smiled and stood. Jeremie followed Ulrich to the couch as Ulrich started flipping through Netflix. Ulrich pursed his lips as nothing looked good until he came across a documentary about interspecies animal friendships.

"Okay, I know this is totally hokey-"

"I want to watch this with you, Ulrich, and so will Aelita. You don't have to justify to us what you like," Jeremie smiled softly as he gathered blankets and pillows. He sat next to Ulrich on the couch and spread most of the blanket across their laps as Aelita returned with popcorn. She sat on Ulrich's other side and placed the rest of the blankets over her lap, giving Ulrich the bowl of popcorn.

"Oh! I've been wanting to watch this! Good choice, Ulrich!"

Aelita snuggled up to Ulrich's side and he flushed as she rested her head on his shoulder. He was about to ask if she wanted him to move so she could sit next to Jeremie, but she linked her arms through his while Jeremie made himself comfortable against Ulrich's other side.

The movie started and Ulrich settled in between his two roommates shyly. They'd become a lot more physically affectionate since moving in together, but he assumed it was because he was less averse to it after going to therapy for so long.

As they watched the movie, Jeremie fell asleep with his head on Ulrich's shoulder. Ulrich nudged Aelita and smiled as he silently indicated for her to look at her boyfriend. She giggled softly and reached over Ulrich to gently stroke Jeremie's hair. Jeremie sighed and relaxed further against Ulrich's side.

Ulrich noticed his arm was falling asleep, and he hesitated before gently extricating it from between him and Jeremie, and put it around Jeremie's shoulder gently so as not to wake him. Jeremie shifted, and wrapped his arms around Ulrich's middle with a soft snore. Ulrich flushed, but he stayed still and let Jeremie cuddle up to him. When the movie ended, Aelita stood and Ulrich carefully picked up Jeremie.

Aelita ran ahead of him and quietly opened the door to their room. When Ulrich was inside the room, she pulled back the covers on their bed. Ulrich set Jeremie down carefully before pulling the covers up to his chin. He and Aelita snuck out, and Aelita closed the door behind them.

"Didn't know ducks being raised by chickens made him so sleepy," Ulrich chuckled. "If you're not ready to join him yet, we could work on that song you're writing him for his birthday. I've been itching to pick up my guitar."

"Sounds great!" Aelita grinned and followed Ulrich to his room. He picked up his guitar and sat on his bed. Aelita sat on the other end, and they spent about an hour going over lyrics and chords, fine-tuning what they already had.

When Aelita couldn't keep her eyes open anymore, she gave Ulrich a hug, kissed his cheek, and made her way back to where Jeremie was sleeping.

Ulrich set his guitar on it's stand and flipped through his flash cards one last time before he went to bed.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

"Ulrich, I made you a lunch!" Jeremie smiled as he handed Ulrich a paper sack. "Roast beef and cheese on wheat, an orange, and a Gatorade! That should keep you focused on your exams!"

"And I made you oatmeal with fruit and granola for breakfast!" Aelita grinned as well. "Go to school, get good grades, and we'll celebrate when grades come out Friday!"

Ulrich grinned as he sat down to breakfast. "I was just going to throw together something! You guys didn't have to do this!"

"We wanted to, to give you a boost before you go in." Aelita set down a glass of juice and ruffled his hair. "Because we believe in you and know you can do well."

Ulrich bit the inside of his cheek and gently tucked the paper lunch in his school bag. "Thank you guys for all your help. I just need to know… why are you going so above and beyond for me? I mean I know we're friends and roommates, but this feels like something else but I don't know what."

Aelita looked over her glasses at Jeremie. "I told you we were being too subtle. Ulrich second guesses his intuition too much, he needs us to be open."

Jeremie sighed and shrugged. "You're right, of course."

Before Ulrich could say anything else, Aelita took his hand and smiled softly. "Okay, I know you know Jeremie and I are together, obviously. But we both also like you. A lot. And we want to be with you. Jeremie insisted we try to be low-key about it and let you pick up on it at your own pace, which is the only reason I haven't told you before now."

Ulrich gaped at Aelita and she smiled, squeezing his hand gently. "What you want to do with that is up to you. But just to have it out there, Jeremie and I are both bisexual, and as much in love with you as with each other. Sorry to drop this on you right before you go to school, but I didn't want to lie to you, just to tell the truth later."

"I appreciate that…" Ulrich mumbled, flushing as he looked at his food, where the fruit was laid out like a heart. He couldn't believe he'd been missing the signs.

Aelita ruffled his hair one last time and stood. "We'll get out of your hair while you process, text us between tests with how you think you did."

Jeremie stood and squeezed Ulrich's shoulder, and for the first time, Ulrich noticed the way his hand lingered just a little longer than typical. He flushed harder as they left and he ate his breakfast in silence. It was made just the way he liked, the way Aelita knew he liked it. He didn't remember ever telling her how he cooked oatmeal, or how he only ever ate it on test days, like a lucky charm.

He finished his bowl and rinsed it out, and grabbed his bag. It was a short ride on his skateboard to the campus and he pulled out his ream of scantrons.

Right on top was a sticky note in Jeremie's messy, scratchy print.

"I believe in you, Ulrich. You worked hard on this and you're going to do so amazingly well."

Ulrich smiled and placed the note in his binder for safekeeping. He flushed when he remembered that Jeremie didn't just write that note out of encouragement. He took a deep breath and bounced his leg as the professor came into the room and handed out the exams.

As soon as the paper was in front of him, he was able to focus on that and he took a deep breath before putting pencil to paper.

After two tests back to back, he had an hour and a half for lunch and he sighed as he pulled out the lunch Jeremie had packed him. It had stayed cool with the ice pack Jeremie had added, and he laughed when he saw the wet wipes included. Jeremie knew he always made a mess when he tried to eat an orange.

Ulrich pulled out his phone and went into three group chat he had with his roommates.

"Aced the first two, they were super easy. I'm dreading the afternoon exams but I'm trying not to psych myself out."

Jeremie, probably glued to his phone like always, answered first. "Of course you did well! You put so much work into those classes this semester. Did you see my note?"

"On the scantrons, yeah. Thanks, Jer. You're awesome."

Aelita responded next. "I'm glad you're doing well, Ulrich. I'm really proud of you."

Ulrich's chest swelled with warmth and he smiled softly. He knew they meant what they said, but the praise meant so much more to him than here figured they realized. After a lifetime of trying to impress his father, anyone being proud of him made him grin like a fool.

Well, not just anyone.

Sure it felt good when teachers and school friends said it, but he didn't get the same warm feeling he got when it was Jeremie or Aelita. He sighed as he pulled out his sandwich and considered that. Of course he liked them. They were amazing and he didn't know where he'd be without them. He even loved them. But he'd tried so hard to deny that, thinking it was selfish when they were so happy together.

But if they both felt the same way about him…

It was almost too good to be true.

There was no way that the two smartest, kindest people he knew liked him that much.

But they'd told him they did.

And they certainly weren't liars. But he still had to be sure.

"Guys, did you really mean it when you told me you both… Love me? I know you wouldn't lie, but it's hard for me to wrap my head around you guys loving me too when you already have each other and I'm just… Me."

Aelita was the first to get back to him. "Of course we meant it. And you're not "just" you. You're so much more than "just". For one thing, you're my hero, remember? And you are the one I always can go to when I need silence and a little friendly company."

Ulrich didn't have time to respond before Jeremie's response came up as well.

"Aelita makes a good point. Don't forget you're my hero too. Don't forget in high school when someone tried bullying me and you walked me to all my classes until he tried to start something and you finished it. And you volunteered your free time to help me practice for those fitness tests so I didn't flunk PE. You're an incredibly kind, loving person and yes, Aelita and I have each other, but we're selfish. We want you too because we love you just as much as we love each other."

Ulrich had to set down his phone and take a few deep breaths to keep from tearing up. He was trying to process everything without throwing himself off for the rest of the day.

"Thank you guys. I need some time to process this. I… Really like you guys too and I think I want to try something but I need time to get back into school mode. I'll tell you when I'm on my way home."

He hesitated, then sent a little green heart after.

Within seconds, a pink heart and a blue heart followed.

Ulrich couldn't help a smile as he put his phone in his pocket. He finished his lunch, went over a few study guides, and by the time he was done, it was time to go to his next exam

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Ulrich groaned as he came home and hung his bag in the hall. Aelita peeked her head out of the kitchen to smile at him, and he hardly knew what he was doing before he hurried over and picked her up in a hug.

Aelita giggled as he buried his face in her shoulder and squeezed her tighter.

"How were your last exams?" Aelita smiled and stroked his hair until he set her down.

He smiled softly and shrugged. "They were easy. I don't know what I was so panicked about. Where's Jer? I didn't see his car?"

"Getting some sparkling juice to celebrate!" Aelita smiled, then turned back to the food she was cooking. "So. You did some thinking on lunch?"

Ulrich flushed and nodded. "I did. But let's wait till Jer's back to talk about it."

Aelita smiled and nodded. "Sounds good. Can you whip up something for dessert?"

"Uh, yeah, what's the ETA on dinner?"

"Twenty minutes! Why?"

"I'm gonna make an angel food cake and make a strawberry topping for it," Ulrich didn't need to look at Aelita to see her grin. When he first started baking, he learned that Jeremie loved his angel food cake, and it was no secret that Aelita loved strawberries. They worked in comfortable silence, and by the time dinner was done and cake was in the oven, strawberry topping made, Jeremie was home and had set the table.

They didn't talk about the elephant in the room over dinner or dessert, but as they curled up on the couch, in the same order as the other night, Ulrich took a deep breath and bit his lip.

"So you guys love me."

Aelita nodded and stroked his hair. He sighed and leaned into the gentle touch, and she grinned.

"And I...I do love you guys."

"I hope I don't offend, but that was a little obvious. We've known for a while," Jeremie took his hand gently with a smile.

Ulrich squeezed his hand and laughed shakily. "So that's that? Sorry, I just… Don't know how to… go from here."

"How about this?" Aelita cupped his cheeks and Ulrich's heart hammered in his chest as she leaned in. She left a little space between them in case Ulrich wasn't ready, which he appreciated, but he leaned in the rest of the way to kiss her.

It was short and sweet, but for Ulrich, who'd had the odd girlfriend here and there, it felt like nothing he'd ever felt before. It felt like coming home. Like something he'd been waiting for without knowing what it was, or that it would ever come.

Aelita leaned back first and smiled, stars in her eyes. "C'mon, we don't want to make Jeremie jealous."

"I'm fine! I can wait my turn! I mean, unless you really want to..."

Jeremie looked as flustered as Ulrich felt, so he turned to Jeremie and took another deep breath before he leaned in to kiss Jeremie as well.

This was more clumsy and nervous, and Ulrich fully accepted his role in that given that it was his first time kissing a guy. He was secure in his bisexuality, but not out publicly, so he'd never had the chance before. Jeremie didn't seem to mind, though and enjoyed the kiss nonetheless.

After, Ulrich looked away from both of them and stared at his hands. Aelita rested her head on his shoulder and smiled.

"It's okay. You don't have to push anything. We can take this at your pace."

Jeremie leaned on his other side and nodded. "We want you to feel comfortable and safe with us. Don't just do things because you think we want you to."

Ulrich smiled softly and put his arms around them both. "Thank you, guys. I really really appreciate you two being so understanding and patient with me."

"Of course," Jeremie nuzzled into his shoulder.

Aelita looked up and kissed his cheek softly. "So this is totally up to you, but we do have room for three in our bed, if you want to sleep in there with us tonight."

Ulrich nodded and rested his head on hers. "That sounds nice. Can I be in the middle? I like this a lot."

"Whatever you want, Ulrich," Jeremie smiled and kissed his cheek as well.


End file.
